Veteran director Boon Joon Ho (The Host, Okja) wows international audiences with this comedic-drama-horror-thriller hybrid that sucks you in despite the very Korean feel. The first half is outstanding at building characters and immersing you in their fraudulent world, really a masterclass of film making. The ending does go back to its Korean drama roots with an extremely melodramatic sequence that slightly breaks the suspension of disbelief, putting this film just short of a perfect score in our book.
Expect this film to show up in a lot of top categories on nominations day, including Best Picture, Best Director and Best Original Screenplay, with Best Film Editing, Production Design and Cinematography being on the bubble. Some people dare suggest it could go all the way but I highly doubt it since Roma couldn’t do it last year. Alas, the voters will probably give it Best Foreign Film and call it a day. All in all we highly recommend you check this one out!